Press Releases

This week, Microsoft’s annual Apprenticeship of the Year competition has crowned 20 year old Lucy Muldoon, who works at Nomura Holdings in London, as overall winner for 2016. Beating 114 other hopefuls to take the top spot, Lucy entered the competition in the ‘Apprentice in Support role’ category, which she … Read more »

The wait is nearly over for football fans as the 2016/17 Premier League season kicks off this weekend. Microsoft’s search engine Bing has predicted that Manchester City will win the league with 94 points, five clear of local rivals Manchester United with 89, followed by Chelsea and Arsenal with 88 and … Read more »

A teenager with leukemia who wanted to see how computer games were made has had her wish granted by Rare Games. Taylor Scott was given a tour of the Microsoft-owned game maker, which has developed hits such as Kameo and Viva Pinata, and is currently working on the upcoming Sea … Read more »

At E3 earlier this year, Microsoft unveiled its latest console, the Xbox One S. The new console has a sleeker design and is 40% smaller than the current Xbox One. It features a new wireless controller with textured grip and Bluetooth support as well as a built in power supply. … Read more »

by Mike Ybarra, Head of Platform Engineering The latest system update for Xbox One and the Xbox app has started rolling out, continuing our commitment to give gamers more choice in how and where they play. Cortana is now on Xbox One, Background Music will be available through music apps like Pandora, we’re … Read more »

By John Roach As a professional photographer shooting the Seattle Seahawks, Josh Weisberg dashed around the football field, constantly taking pictures in anticipation of the perfect shot. “If you see it happen and you aren’t already taking pictures, it’s too late, you missed the shot,” says Weisberg, who is a … Read more »

By Helen Dyer Children on the Autism Spectrum & Parents Association (CASPA) has been working to support children and young people with autism and their families in south London for 15 years. Autism is a lifelong neurological developmental condition which affects all aspects of a person’s life. It is often … Read more »

June marks the start of festival season, and as some of the world’s biggest acts head to Britain to entertain the crowds, we’ve rounded up some of the best apps for your Windows Phone to help you party all day. Must-have apps include Shazam, which allows you to instantly identify … Read more »

A mini-computer that UK schoolchildren have turned into watches, stepometers and musical instruments has now been released for general sale across the country. The BBC micro:bit, which has been handed to 800,000 youngsters across the UK free of charge, can now be bought online. It is hoped the fully programmable … Read more »

By Jeannette M. Wing, corporate vice president, Microsoft Research “Not in my lifetime.” That’s what I said when I was asked whether we would ever see computer science taught in schools in the United States. It was 2009, and I was addressing a gathering of attendees to a workshop on … Read more »

If you’re sensible, you probably plan your spending throughout the month. You might have a big car payment coming up so you decide not to buy those jeans you’ve been looking at, or that top you want. Or you’re going for a meal somewhere nice because it’s a friend’s birthday … Read more »

UK start up Movivo is one of 12 entrepreneurial businesses to be awarded a Microsoft Affordable Access Initiative grant. The grants will help these businesses scale their services and business models to increase affordable Internet access for the 4.2 billion unconnected people in the world. Each company will receive seed … Read more »

The original Doom blasted onto the scene in 1994, in an era where 3D gaming was in its infancy and almost no one had dedicated graphics cards in their PCs. Nevertheless, the designers at id Software squeezed terror and menace out of every single pixel. Now, with the launch of … Read more »

Ever wondered how fast a rocket car made of foam can go? Well, wonder no more, as that’s exactly what students across the UK will be finding out, using the BBC micro:bit mini-computer. The BLOODHOUND Project – an international education initiative focused around a 1,000mph World Land Speed Record – … Read more »

We’re very proud of the progress that we’ve made with the ID@Xbox program, which enables qualified game developers of all sizes to unleash their creativity by self-publishing digital games on Xbox One and Windows 10 with Xbox Live. Today, to celebrate the amazing success and bright future of ID@Xbox, we’re … Read more »

Hugh Milward has been appointed Senior Director of Corporate, External and Legal Affairs at Microsoft, overseeing the company’s legal and corporate affairs activities in the UK. The News Centre sat down with Hugh to find out more about his role, the challenges he will face and what he hopes to … Read more »

I started my career in technology at a company called Digital Equipment Corporation 30 years ago and never looked back. I was, and still am, inspired by the smart people I work with, and continue to be hooked on working in an environment where anything is possible. Microsoft is the fourth … Read more »

Technology companies must relate to girls better if they want to increase the number of women choosing a career in the sector, according to new research. Seven to 14-year-old girls are very comfortable using technology such as mobile phones and tablets but are put off considering future employment in the … Read more »

Microsoft has agreed a deal with Rolls-Royce to improve the British manufacturer’s engines and fuel efficiency and cut flight disruptions, it has been announced. Rolls, whose engines power more than 50,000 flights around the world every month, will use Microsoft’s Azure IoT Suite and Cortana Intelligence Suite to analyse data … Read more »

Today, we’re announcing that both Standard and Ultimate Editions of Gears of War 4 are available to pre-order at the Xbox Store, Microsoft Store and GAME. Fans who pre-order either edition of Gears of War 4 will receive the pre-order exclusive Vintage Del Gear Pack featuring a Vintage Del character … Read more »

Microsoft has given large grants to organisations in the UK in a bid to boost youngsters’ computer skills. The money, which forms part of Microsoft’s $75m commitment to increase access to computer science education across the world through Microsoft YouthSpark, will be handed to The Royal Society, UK Youth and … Read more »

Women are using search engines to look for information and items on phones and tablets more than men, according to a new study. Six in 10 searches using Bing on mobile devices are made by women, the Bing Ads UK Mobile Insights Report revealed, with the total number of questions … Read more »

By Andrew Trotman Fears that robots will take over the human race are holding back artificial intelligence (AI) from reaching its full potential, according to a leading expert in future technology. Declaring that we are on the “cusp of generational change” in computing, Dave Coplin, Microsoft’s chief envisioning officer, said … Read more »

By Bill Mitchell, Director of Education, BCS Since the autumn of 2014 computing has been a statutory subject for all children in England from age 5 through to age 16. Computer science is at the heart of the new computing curriculum and for almost all schools is a new and … Read more »

Singer MØ has launched a global campaign with Microsoft Surface to showcase the creativity of her fans. The Danish star – best known for her collaboration with Major Lazer on the most streamed song on Spotify, “Lean on” – has asked her followers to share their thoughts and artwork online … Read more »